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Maskless NYPD officers disciplined after NYC subway video goes viral
Maskless NYPD officers disciplined after NYC subway video goes viral
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 1:52PM
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said two officers have been disciplined after a viral video showed them ejecting a rider from a subway station who purportedly hassled them over not wearing masks. Shea called the officers' actions "absolutely inexcusable," though he added they would not be fired or suspended. "There is no excuse for what I saw in that video," he said. "We are better than that."
The incident happened around 9 a.m. Tuesday at the 8th Street station in Greenwich Village. The video shows the maskless officers escorting the rider, identified as Andrew Gilbert, from the station, and you can hear the officer telling the commuter he is being disruptive. "I've been the first to defend officers, I think many of you know that," Shea said. "I'm also the first to call out wrong when it's wrong...I think the public deserves better than that."
Gilbert sent a statement to Eyewitness News telling his account of the events. "I was just commuting to work, and when I got off the train, I noticed these two officers standing there on the platform with no masks, as is fairly typical these days for the NYPD," he said. "I've taken to filming them whenever I see them doing this in the subway, so I walked over and asked them why they weren't masked. The male officer kept pretending he couldn't hear what I was saying. He told me, 'I can't hear you through your mask,' etc. After a few seconds, another women noticed this and came over and started recording as well. She's the one who posted the video to Twitter that went viral. I kept asking them to follow the law and put a mask on, and the officer declared that I was being 'disruptive' and grabbed me and shoved me 60 feet over to the emergency exit and slammed me through it. He yelled at me, 'If you're not going to ride the train, you can leave.'"
The NYPD has not released details of what precipitated the incident, but the woman who shot the video told Eyewitness News the male officer mocked Gilbert even though she did not believe he was being aggressive or provocative in addressing the officers. Acting MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber blasted the officers and said it is past time for "more than a few cops" to start complying with mask rules underground. "We have obviously more than a few cops that are not complying," he said. "Come on. Set an example. You are the people who are responsible for getting everyone to comply with mask wearing and with all the behavior and rules we apply to the public spaces. Come on. It's enough already."
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 1:52PM
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said two officers have been disciplined after a viral video showed them ejecting a rider from a subway station who purportedly hassled them over not wearing masks. Shea called the officers' actions "absolutely inexcusable," though he added they would not be fired or suspended. "There is no excuse for what I saw in that video," he said. "We are better than that."
The incident happened around 9 a.m. Tuesday at the 8th Street station in Greenwich Village. The video shows the maskless officers escorting the rider, identified as Andrew Gilbert, from the station, and you can hear the officer telling the commuter he is being disruptive. "I've been the first to defend officers, I think many of you know that," Shea said. "I'm also the first to call out wrong when it's wrong...I think the public deserves better than that."
Gilbert sent a statement to Eyewitness News telling his account of the events. "I was just commuting to work, and when I got off the train, I noticed these two officers standing there on the platform with no masks, as is fairly typical these days for the NYPD," he said. "I've taken to filming them whenever I see them doing this in the subway, so I walked over and asked them why they weren't masked. The male officer kept pretending he couldn't hear what I was saying. He told me, 'I can't hear you through your mask,' etc. After a few seconds, another women noticed this and came over and started recording as well. She's the one who posted the video to Twitter that went viral. I kept asking them to follow the law and put a mask on, and the officer declared that I was being 'disruptive' and grabbed me and shoved me 60 feet over to the emergency exit and slammed me through it. He yelled at me, 'If you're not going to ride the train, you can leave.'"
The NYPD has not released details of what precipitated the incident, but the woman who shot the video told Eyewitness News the male officer mocked Gilbert even though she did not believe he was being aggressive or provocative in addressing the officers. Acting MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber blasted the officers and said it is past time for "more than a few cops" to start complying with mask rules underground. "We have obviously more than a few cops that are not complying," he said. "Come on. Set an example. You are the people who are responsible for getting everyone to comply with mask wearing and with all the behavior and rules we apply to the public spaces. Come on. It's enough already."
A little more at: https://abc7ny.com/subway-masks-covid-nypd-greenwich-village/11147904/
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